1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to automated systems for washing and waxing vehicles. More particularly, the invention relates to a modification or a retrofit to existing automated vehicle washing systems that enables operators of existing systems to switch over to new, highly concentrated cleaning and waxing chemicals while still employing the same basic equipment used for conventional, less concentrated chemicals.
2. Description of the Related Art
Chemicals used in automatic car washes are now available in highly concentrated formulas. However, most existing car wash equipment is designed to accommodate conventional, less concentrated chemicals. The present invention addresses the problem of converting automatic car washing equipment from conventional car cleaning and waxing chemicals to highly concentrated car cleaning and waxing chemicals without substantially replacing existing equipment or making expensive and time consuming modifications to the existing car washing equipment.
Existing North American car wash systems generally use conventional chemicals supplied in 55-gallon drums and European car washes generally use conventional chemicals supplied in 25 liter containers. The broad term "chemical" refers to detergents and other cleaning agents as well as to waxes, sealants and other conditioners. The chemicals are typically drawn out of the 55-gallon drum or 25 liter container with a pump, commonly referred to as a "feed pump" or a "direct feed pump", and then injected into an overhead "spray arch" of the car wash where they are mixed with water just before the chemical/water mixture is sprayed onto the vehicles.
In certain conventional car wash systems, the use of highly concentrated chemicals with a conventional spray arch has resulted in the application to vehicles of a chemical/water mixture having a relatively high concentration of chemicals. This can make it quite difficult to properly rinse the chemical/water mixture off of the vehicle after the cleaning step has been completed. Therefore, certain existing vehicle washing systems have required modification before they could employ the more concentrated chemicals.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,655,713 provides a number of solutions to the problem of how to retrofit or convert existing car wash facilities from using conventional detergents (supplied in 55-gallon drums or 25 liter containers) to highly concentrated detergents and waxes that may be in excess of ten times stronger or more concentrated than conventional chemicals. The car wash systems disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,655,713 have provided many ancillary benefits for car wash operations. First, car wash operators are no longer responsible for disposing of the 55-gallon drums or 25 liter containers which normally cannot be deposited in a normal trash bin.
Further, chemical manufacturers have been able to supply concentrated chemicals in a 5-gallon container or 4 liter container, which may include a plastic bag of chemicals enclosed in a protective cardboard box. Sales personnel or account representatives can carry the boxes of chemicals in the trunk of a sedan; a truck or van for delivering the chemicals to car wash operators is not required. The account representatives can move, replace and install the smaller boxes of highly concentrated chemicals without assistance. In contrast, 55-gallon drums can weigh as much as 500 pounds which requires two or more people to move a 55-gallon drum full of chemicals. Workplace injuries as a result of moving of heavy objects such as a full 55-gallon drum can be avoided. Likewise, 25 liter containers may be quite heavy. Further, no special arrangements for the disposal of empty concentrate boxes or bags need to be made. The plastic bags held with the boxes can be recycled, as well as the cardboard box. Thus, the conversion from conventional car wash chemicals to highly concentrated chemicals made possible by the vehicle washing systems described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,655,713 provides benefits to both the chemical manufacturer and car wash operators.
In view of the success of the car wash systems described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,655,713, there has been continued interest in and demand for other car wash systems that allow for the conversion from conventional car wash chemicals to highly concentrated chemicals. However, even though conversions from conventional car wash chemicals to highly concentrated chemicals have been shown to provide benefits to both the chemical manufacturer and car wash operators, car wash operators may still be reluctant to convert to the highly concentrated chemicals if a substantial amount of new equipment or modification to existing equipment is required in order to convert from the regular strength chemicals to the concentrated chemicals. Accordingly, the present invention provides additional means for converting existing car wash operations from conventional chemicals to concentrated chemicals without an excessive amount of new equipment or modification to existing equipment.
It is therefore one object of the present invention to provide an improved system for pre-diluting highly concentrated chemicals for use in automated vehicle washing systems.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an improved retrofit kit for enabling existing automated vehicle washing systems to convert from conventional chemicals to highly concentrated chemicals.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an improved method of retrofitting or converting existing automated vehicle washing systems from using conventional chemicals to highly concentrated chemicals.
It has also been discovered that certain car wash operators prefer to apply more than one conventional chemical to a vehicle by way of a conventional spray arch. For instance, a detergent and a detergent booster may be applied together, or a polish wax and a sealer wax may be applied together, or a detergent and a rinse aid may be applied together. Often, the car wash operators will mix the conventional chemicals together in a chemical container, and then apply the chemicals to the vehicles being washed by way of the conventional spray arch. However, this method of applying two chemicals to vehicles has disadvantages. First, as described above, conventional chemicals are typically supplied in large containers which are difficult to transport and discard. Second, certain chemicals do not remain in solution for extended periods of time after mixing, i.e., one of the chemicals may fall out of solution after a short period of time. If separation of the chemicals occurs, a non-uniform mixture of chemicals may be applied to the vehicle by way of the spray arch. Accordingly, there is a need for an improved system for delivering concentrated chemicals for use in automated vehicle washing systems wherein the system also delivers a uniform mixture of two or more concentrated chemicals to a spray arch.
It is therefore another object of the present invention to provide an improved system for delivering highly concentrated chemicals for use in automated vehicle washing systems wherein the system also delivers a uniform mixture of two or more concentrated chemicals.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an improved retrofit kit for enabling existing automated vehicle washing systems to convert from conventional chemicals to highly concentrated chemicals and to deliver a uniform mixture of two or more concentrated chemicals.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an improved method of retrofitting or converting existing automated vehicle washing systems from using conventional chemicals to highly concentrated chemicals wherein the vehicle washing system delivers a uniform mixture of two or more concentrated chemicals to a spray arch.